


Eden

by saints_to_sinners



Category: The 100, The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan, Tv show - Fandom
Genre: Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-19 12:21:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18135692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saints_to_sinners/pseuds/saints_to_sinners
Summary: Follow Clarke, Bellamy, Murphy, Raven and the rest of Wonkru as they learn to settle in at Eden, and fight one last battle to save the last of the human race.





	1. Survival

Chapter one: 

Clarke and Bellamy had decided to wake a handful of the others from the pods, choosing Murphy, Emori, Raven, Echo, and Madi. And they currently all stood by the large window with Jordan looking at what was supposed to be their new home.

“What if there are others down there?” Raven finally spoke up, leaning against the desk, asking the question that plagued them all. 

“Should we try to radio down first?” Emori asked, peeking out to look at everyone. 

“Possibly, unless they aren’t like us.” Madi supplied, her arms crossed over her chest. 

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked, her blond eyebrows rising. 

“If they aren’t humans or friendly, or if they don’t have the technology to even hear us-“ Madi was cut off by static. 

“Eligius IV, do you read me? We have coordinates on your ship, please respond.” the voice was obviously female, and it didn’t seem like a recording. 

“Eligius IV, do you read me? We have coordinates on your ship, please respond.” The voice responded, and Raven looked to Bellamy and Clarke, both nodded. Raven sat and grabbed the radio, taking a deep breath. 

“We read you. This is Eligius IV.” Raven responded. 

“Eligius IV, welcome to Eden. I am Oliver Sharp. Who am I speaking with?” 

“I am Raven Reyes, with my leaders.” 

“Well, Raven, lets make this short and simple, before we let you land, one of our people will have to come up there to speak with you and yours, to ensure you are not hostial.” Raven put the walkie down and looked at Bellamy and Clarke, and they nodded. 

“Understood, Oliver. We will welcome them aboard.” Raven responded and smiled at the slight chuckle that replied. 

“I have a feeling you and I will be great friends, Raven. See you in a few.” And the static faded. 

“That was different?” Clarke added, staring out the window. 

“Who knows what’s going to happen though? What if they send more then one and take the ship?” Murphy asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Raven, this is Oliver, I am approaching your ship.” 

“That was fast as hell.” Echo replied, and Raven went to manuvering the ships bay to allow for docking. Bellamy and Clarke both exited out and was followed by everyone else to see what was next. Standing in front of the airlock, a suited body was standing, hands up when Raven accessed the airlock letting the person remove their suit. Slowly she removed the helmet, revealing blood red hair, bright blue eyes, and tanned skin. She unzipped the suit revealing a toned and athletic body. After removing her gear, she resumed standing with her hands up and Clarke gave Raven a nod, who opened the door. 

“Hello, my name is Oliver. But everyone calls me Oli.” She gave a smile.

“I’m Raven.” Then she pointed, naming off each person. “Murphy, Emori, Echo, Jordan, Madi, Clarke and Bellamy.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Oliver responded, leaning against the wall. 

“You got up here awfully fast.” Murphy supplied.

“Well, I won’t sugarcoat it for you,” Oliver responded. “We noticed your ship about 6 hours ago, and I decided to head out. The old man won’t like it, but he’ll deal.” 

“Old man?” Bellamy asked.

“Our leader, President Russell. He’s a good guy, just cautious. Those before us told us of the Eligius missions, including this one.Or what he knew of it, and I gotta say, you don’t look like a bunch on psycho miners.” Oliver explained. “Is this all of your people?” 

“No, we have almost 500.” Madi supplied, and Oliver nodded. 

“Cool, we have space on the ground, if you decide to join us. I’m mostly here to talk with you, get to know you, then I will radio down to Russell, and we can clear you all for landing, and help you settle in. Got somewhere to sit so we can chat.” Oliver asked, shoving her hands in her pockets. 

“Come on.” Bellamy supplied and they followed back to the front of the ship, the control room. Oliver glanced around, looking out at her planet, and leaned against the window, hands still in her pockets, as everyone sat down. 

“Tell where your story started, tell me what you are looking for?” She offered, and Clarke stood and paced. 

“For some of us, it started on the Ark.” Clarke paused, and Oliver looked at her. “It was a space station, comprised of the 12 stations that Earth had. And it’s life support was dying. So our leader, Jaha sent 101 of us down to Earth to see if the ground was inhabitable. This was..” She paused looking at Raven, “a 132 years ago. We’ve been in a cryosleep for 125 years. For a year, we were on the ground, fighting a war with the survivors on Earth, there aren’t a lot of that original 100 left.” Clarke’s voice cracked, and Oliver nodded. 

“How many are left?” Oliver asked. 

“Technically 5. Clarke, Murphy, Miller and Octavia; who are still asleep, and me.” Bellamy added. And Oliver nodded again. 

“Eventually those still on the Ark came down, and we had an issue with the Mountian men, a group of survivors in a Mountian bunker, who killed a few of us so they could eventually leave the bunker,” Bellamy added, glancing t Raven.

“Bone marrow to survive the radiation?” Oliver asked, and Bellamy nodded. 

“We killed everyone in that bunker to save our people,” Clarke added, and Bellamy flinched.

“To survive, sacrifices must be made, Clarke.” Oliver supplied, and nodded. 

“We had an issue with an AI named Allie, she had destroyed the world by Nuclear bombs, which is why the Ark had to be formed.” Bellamy continued. “We stopped her with the help of the grounders, who Madi here is in charge of.” Madi gave a nod to Oliver who returned it. “But then another end was coming, Nuclear reactors were exploding. Some of us ended up in a bunker, and some in space.”

“And two surviving the radiation,” Madi added, and Oliver didn’t miss the way Bellamy, Raven and Murphy flinched and Clarke closed her eyes. 

“How?” Oliver asked. 

“Altered blood, meant to withstand high levels of radiation. My blood was synthetically altered to see if it would work, and Madi was born with it.” 

“A genetic abnormality in the blood,” Oliver added with a nod. 

“For 6 years, we tried to either escape the bunker or come back down to Earth, when we did, it was because of Eligius IV, we used the ship, and we ended up using the miners to help the others escape the Bunker, but it ended up in another war, which destroyed Earth, making it unstable for anyone to survive.” Bellamy finished, and Oliver sighed, running a hand through her hair. 

“You all have been through so much. My people will welcome you because they will have no choice.” Oliver started, only to be cut off by Murphy. 

“Don’t you need to run this by Russell.” 

“No, see we are run much like America had been run all those years ago. Russell was elected, and he chose who his advisors were. He picked me for my intelligence. Technically speaking, I am a geneticist. I have helped recreated animals from Earth. But even more, I am Russell’s military advisor, also.” She smiled, and Murphy backed down. 

“Even if I had asked Russell about coming up here, he still would’ve sent me. I’ve had worse missions, and he trusts my judgment. Life isn’t always peachy on the ground.” Oliver finished.

“What do you mean?” Raven asked. 

“When my ancestors arrived here, there were others, we call them Skrimsli. It means monster in Icelandic. Apparently, the first leader here was fluent. We don’t know much about them, and it has been difficult to deal with them. We have about 150 people left in our camp, we’ve had up to 700 before, but slowly the Skrimsli have been picking us off.” Oliver paused, “In my opinion, we could use your ability to fight to train others to fight back, or to protect my people better. However, this is your choice. Saying yes, doesn’t mean we won’t let you join us.” 

“What can you tell us about the Skrimsli?” Bellamy asked, and Oliver sighed. 

“They tower at about 7 feet, with black skin, they seem human-like at first, they mate and breed, and their genetic makeup is similar to ours, but how to stop them from ending us has become hard. We’ve lost much of our military force. We’ve been able to reinforce our wall to lend us more protection, but at the same time, much of our crops and farms are outside of the wall.” 

“What have you all been able to create down there?” Clarke asked. 

“We’ve been able to create animals, like cows, horses, chickens, and a few others. We have wells for water. But a lot of our soldiers are dead, and Russell and I aren’t exactly comfortable putting guns in the hands of children or risking the fact of us having a bunch of orphans, without being able to protect them.” Oliver supplied. 

“Understandable, but if we don’t want to fight?” Echo supplied. 

“That's fine like I said, we won’t refuse you passage to somewhere you could call home.” Oliver finished and looked back at her home. 

“We’ll be back, we just have to-” Murphy began, but Clarke held up her hands.

“We’ll go to the ground, we’ll wake up our people and let them decide,” Clarke added,and Bellamy nodded. 

“Raven, can you get the entire ship down to Eden?” Bellamy asked, and Raven chuckled and Oliver smirked. 

“Who do you think you’re talking to, Blake? I’m Raven freaking Reyes.” Oliver nodded and moved towards the radio, looking at Clarke and Bellamy they both nodded. 

“Eden, this is Oliver aboard Eligius IV attempting contact, do you copy?” 

“This is Eden, Oliver, what are your orders?” A male voice came over the radio. 

“Clear for landing, Eden. We’re coming down.”

“Oli, I should kick your ass for going up there.” A different, gruff voice sounded over in the radio. 

“Come on Russ, take the stick out of your ass, I did my job. They aren’t Hostiles, we’re heading down.” 

“That’s a copy, Oli. But you still should have told me.” Russell responded in irritation. 

“Go ahead and take this station to the ground Raven. And Russ, we’ll finish this when I’m back home, for now just clear us for a touchdown.”

“You’re clear, Oliver. Go for the touchdown.” Russell finished. Oliver nodded at Raven, and they began their descent to the ground. 

“There will be a space for us to land due east, coordinates are 37.58 by -88.756. It’ll be just inside the wall, behind the main house, that way we can easily start waking your people without having to worry about Skrimsli.”

“Got it, Oli. Brace for entry to Eden’s atmosphere. This’ll be rough, I’ve never landed anything this large before. Emori, get on the other controls and help me land this bitch.”

“On it,” Emori responded and jumped on the other controls as they began their descent. 

“Clarke, Bellamy.” Oliver stopped them, “As a suggestion, I think you should wait on waking your people until after we meet with Russell, that way we have a chance to set you all up in the most painless and easy way possible.”

“That’s fine,” Bellamy added, glancing at Clarke. Oliver recognized the pained longing look on his face but didn’t comment on it. Oliver knew that whatever they had been through was hard on love and affection. She’d experienced it first hand on the battlefield against the Skrimsli. 

“We are gonna hit the atmosphere in 10..” Raven’s voice sounded, and they began rushing to the seats, all but Oliver. As there were no seats, she grabbed the back of Murphy’s seat and held on. 

“Doubt Russell will welcome us if you end up dead.” He responded on feeling her jerk the seat once the impact had begun. She laughed. 

“Unlikely, Russell knows I’m a stubborn, hardheaded shit.”She replied, using her arms to bring her closer to his ear so she didn’t have to shout. 

“Oliver, I’ll give up my seat,” Murphy responded, and she laughed again.

“Not my first bumpy ride, Murphy.” She said, even as her feet left the floor, and she almost lost her grip before Murphy grabbed her forearm, pulling her into his lap as he held onto her. 

“I won’t let you die and ruin my people’s chance at surviving here.” Murphy had to shout so she could hear him over the noise of the thrusters. 

“I won’t die then.” She responded, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Anyway, that won’t be any fun.” She finished,her lips nearly touching his ear. 

“Almost there.” Raven’s voice carried, as they kept falling. “Brace for impact in 10..

“Nine..”

“Eight..” Murphy’s arms tightened round Oliver. 

“Seven..”

“Six…” Oliver buried her face in his neck. 

“Five…”

“Four…”

“Three..”

“Two…One..” They jolted to a standstill as they landed, and Oliver was quick to jump out of Murphy’s arms and walk to the exit, as everyone got unstrapped, she lowered the door, and saw Russell. His tall frame, leaning against a tree.

“Hey, Boss.” She smiled as she stepped up to him. 

“You were unbelievably reckless, Oliver!” He shouted. Oliver glanced back to see the few walking from the Eligius door. 

“Stop being so dramatic, Russell.” 

“No, Oliver, this was dangerous. You could’ve been killed, you had no idea who these people were or what they were capable of.” Russell stopped and looked at them, “No offense.”

“Russell, you put ME in charge of the radio, in charge of watching the skies. You left me the decisions when dealing with the possibilities of others coming here. You said I made the choice there like I do in the lab. You usually trust my instincts.” Oliver defended herself. 

“I do, but you are reckless and stubborn. And I promised your father that I would protect you.”

“Russell, my father is dead and has been for years. I’m an adult, I’m also your vice, if you fall, I take your spot. You have to trust me to make the right choices for our people and going up there was the right choice. Now come meet them and decide for yourself.” Oliver gestured over to them. 

“This is Raven, Emori, Echo, Madi.” She pointed at the three women, and point to Murphy in the back. “That’s Murphy, and then we have Clarke and Bellamy. They are pretty much the leaders, and you should talk to them first.”

“Alright, Clarke and Bellamy, please follow me. The rest of you, relax for a few, then we will go on a tour of this beautiful place.” Russell suppled, giving a tired look to Oliver before leading Clarke and Bellamy towards the large wood built house. She turned and looked at the others with a smile. 

“Welcome to Eden.” She said in a calm voice.


	2. Sector 9

Chapter two: 

It would be two hours before Russell returned with Clarke and Bellamy. They looked relaxed as they walked back to the rest, and Murphy was standing at the entrance of the ship, ready to bolt if necessary. Oliver admired his survival instinct, as was curious what else he could do. She knew what her coming duty would be; finding out where everyone in the ship could work, how they would help and blend with the others. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she needed to know their decision about fighting the Skrimsli. She glanced at the sight of her own people gathering, and she straightened and waved her arm, sending them away. 

“We’ve spoken to Russell, and if Madi okays it, we will help supply troops and training to help fight the Skrimlsi, as well as help figure out what they are.” Clarke supplied, “And before you assume, we offered the help after Russell gave us the 9th sector.” She finished glancing at Oliver. 

“Ah.” She paused. “I’ll explain on the way. She gestured towards the front of the area, where we are right now is the 1st sector, this really only holds the meeting house and conference hall. As well as the landing pad and the main door.” Oliver explained as the got to a dirt road and pointed at the large metal gates. 

“Outside the gates is the 2nd, which is comprised of our farms, both for animals and crops. It expands around the wall, closer to the lake, but only goes about 200 feet out, so it's smaller then we want, but any further and it would take to long to save our people or the animals.” She turned from the gate and walked down the dirt road, passing green grass as she went, into a different area of buildings, while the first settlement had been comprised of only the 2 larger buildings, this one held 7 smaller ones, all connected. 

“This is sector 3, or just medical. Over there,” She pointed to a relatively larger wooden building, “Is our hospital, connected to it is the lab, followed by the genetics space, and to the mechanical lab.” She pointed as she went. “The smaller buildings are homes for the doctors and a few of the scientist.” She explained, “they wanted to be closer to their work.” She continued walking, everyone following, until she stopped in an area of much smaller buildings, with people coming and going only pausing a moment to stare before Oliver waved them off. 

“This is the 4th sector, where we do most of our purchases. Clothing, cloth, meat, vegetables, fruits, parts, almost anything. Most things can be traded for others, once we learn more about your people we can help settle everyone into somewhere they are comfortable so they can begin trading or buying until then we will supply you with as much as we can.” She explained, before leading them to a three-way stop, she lifted her hand and pointed left. 

“That way is to our other mechanic section, sector 5. It is where our water, power, heat, and AC comes from, and leads in every direction.” She pointed at the large wooden towers with wires directing in every direction. “These are electrical lines and cross into every settlement, created by the originals from Eligius III, they used their knowledge from earth to supply these, and we just made improvements over the years.” She pointed to the right, “In that direction is our cemetery, sector 6. While it’s mostly carved rock, it's a place for people to mourn their losses, even without a body to mourn.” Oliver explained. She began the walk forward, not in the direction of sector 5 or 6. She brought them to another settlement of small buildings. They were built close together, with small fences between them, and small walkways leading to even more buildings behind them. 

“This is sector 7, one of the largest, it's mostly housing. Each building is comprised of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and living room.” She continued to lead them forward, it was a long walk to the next one, and it was different, it had dug out trenches and metal equipment on both sides of the road and one large building.

“The 8th, pretty small, but useful. Its a playground and school for the children. We don’t have a large amount of them, but its enough. So we teach and train, and let them have fun.” Oliver smiled softly, before pushing forward, into an area that was built similar to settlement 7. Houses.

“This is the 9th sector, it can house up 600 people, so your people should be comfortable. It’s the largest one we have. But if you have people who want to stay up in settlement 3, like doctors, engineers, mechanics, its easy to make arrangements.” She added, before walking a bit further, leading to a large house, and lots of flowers and trees. “This is Russells, he gets the big house, as the leader. We also have a prison of sorts behind it, for criminals. But we have them serve their time, either working in the fields of settlement 2, or they get picked to work for mechanics, engineers, or our military, per their choice.” Oliver explained with a shrug. 

“A prison?” Clarke asked blanching. 

“Yeah, they generally serve a few months to a year and are released back into the population. We have our own crime rate, and anytime we have someone who commits some heinous act, we deliberate as a whole to deliver the best punishment for the crime, as well as what their skills are or how valuable they are to our survival. It has happened, a murderer or rapist gets the worse punishment we can give, but petty things, like stealing, can be forgiven. We don’t execute people. Ever. But we have banished a few.” Oliver sighed. “And just a little further, we have the training area, where we used to train our soldiers.”

“It's so large,” Raven expressed, looking back the way they had come. 

“Of course. We are still hopeful to expand, to help the housing units not be so close, but with the Skrimlsi it hasn’t been possible.” She explained. 

“Makes sense.” Murphy finally spoke, as he looked around. “So now what?”

 

“We find out where you seven can be placed for work, and then start doing the same for the rest of your people. If you have preferences we can work that out as well.” Oliver supplied, “I’ll also work on getting at least 3 of you in the council, so we can always have your groups opinions on matters of this place. I want to make sure everyone’s voice is heard, and Russell will agree.” 

“You sound so sure about that?” Murphy supplied. 

“Because he wants the same thing. So I’m going to take you guys back to your ship, so you can decide what you’d like to do next on your terms, while I speak with Russell.” She finished, and lead the way back, it was a long walk, but the wind was cool even if the two suns were making it hot. 

Oliver did as promised and dropped them off at their ship, heading to the main building in sector 1, where Russell had taken Clarke and Bellamy, she didn’t knock on any doors, simply entered and found Russell in the front room, pacing. 

“How’d it go, Oli?” Russell asked and she leaned against a wall. 

“Went fine. Showed them around, and left them at their ship to talk.” She supplied. 

“I’m a bit concerned about letting so many people in the camp. But based on what Bellamy and Clarke told me, they could be necessary assets to our community.” Russell supplied. 

“Don’t be concerned. I have a good feeling about them. And you’ve always trusted me with this kind of thing. They have everything we need. Warriors, vital men, and women who have fought more than one war and survived the end of Earth more than once. They will be good additions to our home, Russ.” 

“I’m aware, Oli. But it’s still a risk.” 

“They need our help as well. We have people who can help them, therapists that can help with whatever issues they’ve piled up from war.” Oliver countered. 

“You are set on having them here, aren’t you?” 

“It feels right, Russell. I can’t explain it, but when I saw the Eligius IV on the satellite signal, I felt hope for the first time in years. When I chose to follow dad into the military, I thought I was just doing what he wanted, even with my background in genetics, I’ve been following the orders of our military since I was 16, I became the youngest commander of our army and no matter what I’ve watched it dwindle down to maybe 25 people. We need them, Russell.” 

“You need us to fight.” Murphy’s voice broke through the bubble. 

“Yes, I need you to fight, Murphy. Because my people are dying.” She supplied stepping close to him, looking directly in his blue eyes. “But I will not force anyone to join, that is their choice. I need a warrior who isn’t afraid to head straight into a fight with someone bigger and stronger than they are.” She grabbed his hand and put into her chest, right above her heart, his eyes widening. 

“But I swear on my own beating heart that I will not force your people to lay down their lives for mine. They have been through too much and sacrificed enough. But I will not sugarcoat anything for you, Murphy. So right now, I vow-“

“Oliver stop.” Russell stood and she shot him a glare. 

“I vow I will protect your people as I protect my own. I vow they will have the voice they deserve, and that they will not have to fight unless they want too.” She finished and Murphy felt like he had just witnessed something incredibly important for these people in Eden. But even more incredible, he actually believed her, and almost trusted her. 

“Alright. I’ll sign up for your army, I can’t guarantee that anyone else will, but it’s honestly my only skill. Raven is a brilliant mechanic, Emori is her apprentice, Jordan will probably want to be involved in farming. Echo, well, Echo was a spy, but I’m sure she’ll willingly train your own soldiers at stealth techniques. Clarke is a healer as is her mother. And Bellamy is a leader, he has many skills, but he’s also good with sewing. A lot of our people are warriors, farmers and such. So it’s up to Madi and her own people.” 

“I’ll have Raven and Emori set up with our other mechanics, and Jordan in the greenhouse, Clarke to medical,” Russell announced and exited the room. Oliver stood still holding Murphy’s hand to her chest, her eyes still on his. 

“Thank you, Murphy.” She whispered softly and he nodded. He didn’t understand why he felt the need to join her army, but he did. She let his hand go and headed out the back door, back towards Eligius ship, while he stood staring at the spot she’d been. 

 

-

Oliver watched as Clarke and Bellamy slowly began waking up their people, and listened as Clarke relayed the same speech to the individual. And once they were all awake, they stood or sat on the grass outside of the ship, and Oliver kept to the back, still inside as she listened to Clarke explain to everything to them. 

“We have arrived here at Eden, and the people here have welcomed us. All of us. They have promised us shelter and work, food and water. Their leader Russell has offered this with expecting nothing in return, except peace. His second, Oliver, came aboard our ship and met us, spoke to us, and explained to us how their home worked. She has created lists for us to sign as we pick where we’d like to work. Oliver, can you come forward?” Clarke asked, finally drawing attention to her. Oliver stepped forward and cleared her throat. 

“First, I’d like to personally welcome you all to Eden.” She started and the people cheered, causing her to smile softly. “Second, we do have rules here, and we’d like for you to follow them, the repercussions for not doing so ranges to weeks and months in our prison, we do not execute our criminals. So don’t steal, don’t pick fights, don’t destroy someone else’s property. Don’t murder or take things by force.” She explained, and everyone calmed. 

“Thirdly, let me explain our job sources. We need farmers, hunters, mechanics, engineers, clothes makers, anything and everything. If you aren’t sure now, that is fine. We have a school and area for children to play and enjoy their youth.” She paused looking at Clarke who nodded. 

“Lastly, we do need warriors.” She paused as conversations began to erupt from the crowd. “You will not be forced to join it!” She shouted and people began to quiet. “There are creatures outside walls that keep our home safe, have taken hundreds of my people. But no one, I repeat no one, will have to fight unless they choose too. I have lists set up at the table, you just have to write your names down where you’d like to be. Joining the military force here doesn’t mean you cannot stay here. You will be welcome here no matter your choice.” Oliver finished and walked over to the table where her lists were. “Sign up over here, and then we can get you all settled into your new home.” She finished and stepped away from the table, letting Clarke, Bellamy, and Madi lead their people and get them signed up. She didn’t watch instead she watched the first sunset when she felt a presence behind her. 

“The way you spoke to them, will help. Some of them have only ever been ordered around, never given a choice.” Murphy supplied, standing next to her. 

“Well, that isn’t fair to them. They have free will, and they should be allowed to make their own choices.” She added and he sighed.

“I know, but not everyone follows that.” 

“We do here, Murphy. We don’t treat people as useless or worthless or like their lives aren’t as important as others.” Oliver added, finally looking at him, to find her staring at her. 

“That vow you made me, you really meant it.” He stayed and she smiled softly.

“I always mean what I say, Murphy.” 

“And I trust that. Which is weird, honestly. I barely trust my own people anymore. I trust Bellamy, Raven, and Clarke. But that’s just about it.” He chuckled and she glanced at him.

“Emori or Echo?” She asked and he sighed. 

“I trust them enough to know that I can’t always rely on them, even after 6 years together in space.” He finished, and she nodded. 

“Oliver, everyone is done.” Clarke supplied and Oliver nodded.

“I’ll leave you all to the sector and let you figure out where you go from there,” Oliver added and Clarke nodded as they all began the long walk to the 9th settlement. Once there, she paused at the entrance as Clarke and Bellamy moved in sync with each other directing the traffic of their people, when Oliver caught the look on Echo’s face as she watched. There was obvious jealousy and animosity between the two, and Oliver could tell it was something involving Bellamy.

“It’s because my brother is in love with Clarke, has been for years.” A girl said, stepping to the right of Oliver. “Sorry, I’m Octavia. But I could see the curiosity in your face.” 

“What happened?” Oliver asked it had been so long since people her age had fascinated her. 

“Bellamy had to leave Clarke behind back when he left for space, he thought her dead and ended up with Echo. But when he came back, he realized she had been alive and practically alone for 6 years, and then he betrayed her, she betrayed him, and now they are trying to pretend nothing is going on between them, and Echo knows they are horribly in love with each other, just too damn stubborn to admit.”

“Life can be short, and it can be hard. War brings out the worst and the best in people, and it's hard to let love in and let it flourish with everything burning around them.” Oliver supplied, watching. 

“Maybe they’ll figure it out. Echo was good for him, but I know Clarke is who he really wants, and I want him to have that. He deserves it, and so does she.”

“Maybe they will, but they might need a little push in that direction, Octavia.” 

“I guess you and I are gonna have to push,” Octavia responded, before going towards the pair, leaving Oliver alone again. She looked up and saw Murphy watching her. She gave him a nod, before retreating to sector 5, where she slept.


	3. Skrimsli

Chapter three:

It would take three weeks, as the people of Eligius IV got comfortable enough in their new surroundings before they were ready to work. Oliver had expected longer when Clarke came looking for her at the genetics lab in sector 3. Oliver had been feeding her new animals, that were about to be finally released into the wild of Eden when a gentle knock was sounded at the door of her lab. Oliver adjusted her white coat and sighed.

“Come in.” She said, expecting Russell, but finding Clarke instead. “Oh, Clarke. What brings you here?” 

“The people of Eligius IV had settled in and are ready to start earning their keep.” And Oliver internally swallowed, she hadn’t gone over the lists yet, being swamped with guard duty and her responsibilities to sector 5 and here at the lab. She had the list in her desk here, just hadn’t even glanced at them. 

“Alright, Clarke. I’ll get that started. I wanted to give your people enough time to get settled before getting them all assigned. We will start them on trial runs, for the first week, in case they change their minds and want to do something else. After the week, I’ll interview everyone individually to make sure they are comfortable with where they are.”

“Thank you, Oliver.” 

“Of course, Clarke.” She paused, remembering the note she had gotten from Russell. “And since I have here, I wanted to let you know, that Russell has agreed to let 3 of your people into his council. What that means is once a week, you report to sector 1 at the meeting house, where we discuss food productivity, water, the crops, the people’s concerns, and militant information. So I need you to take a vote for your people for the 3 and let me know so I can tell Russell.”

“Absolutely,” Clarke responded and went for the door. 

“And Clarke, once you have your 3 chosen, there is a council meeting tonight after the first sunsets, and the meeting will be at the conference room in sector 1.”

“Thank you again, Oliver.” Clarke finished before exiting the office. Oliver sighed and sat down at her desk, pulling the lists out. She’d bring them to the council, and verify the space for all of Clarke’s people, and then set them up with work. It shouldn’t be too hard, it’ll mean they can get the food dealt with faster, and fewer people in sector 2 at certain times. Oliver leaned back in her seat with a deep sigh and dropped her head in her hands. She was hoping she’d have more time to set the people up in their work, before now. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, that something was coming, and she knew better than to ignore that instinct. But with her busy schedule, it was hard enough to make time for council meetings. She glanced up when her door opened revealing Russell.  
“Can’t ever knock can you?” Oliver asked with a huff of breath. 

“Since when do I have to knock on your office door?” Russell asked as he slid the door shut, and sat in her spare chair, in front of her desk. “You look tired, Oli. You’re working too much.”

“It took us a week to get the proper amount of power supplied to sector 9 for our newcomers, we haven’t sent any electricity in that are for 70 years, a lot of the wiring was fried or dead. It took longer than I expected, and then my responsibilities to the Genetic’s lab and the military have luckily been minor, but the duties piled up while I focused on that.” Oliver supplied. 

“I thought there were mechanics and electricians in the new group?”

“There are, but I wanted to give them some time to settle in and get used to this area, they were in a cryosleep for 125 years, and they woke up in a new place, surrounded by strangers.” Oliver explained, “I just wanted to make sure they were ready before I began placing them.”

“I’ve heard some rumors about you and one of the newcomers, Murphy, spending a lot of time together after the first sunsets,” Russell asked, changing the subject. 

“So that’s why you are here, Russell,” Oliver rolled her eyes. “I don’t know where you get your information, but I’ve spent plenty of time with a lot of our newcomers, not just Murphy.”

“I don’t know if mixing with them is a good idea-” Oliver raised her hand, cutting them off. 

“You are being ridiculous, first, mixing with them would extend the life of the human race, we have about 3 to 7 when it comes to the ratio of men to women.” Oliver added, “and the people may not mix, but if they choose too, that is their choice. We do not take choices away from people.” 

“You’re right, I’m just worried about our people, Oli,” Russell explained. 

“But they are your people as well. That’s how we make it work, that’s how we all survive.” Oliver started, “You show their leaders the respect they deserve, you allow their traditions as long as it isn’t barbaric and doesn’t go against the laws we need them to follow. You show mercy and gratitude for their work ethic and for the sacrifices they have already made in life. Their 3 elected council members should be joining us tonight for the meeting.” 

“Do you have a guess on who will be chosen?” Russell asked. 

“I’m assuming Clarke, Madi or someone to represent her, and maybe Bellamy. The ones from the Ark, trust a man named Kane, but he is currently in a coma. I have a few people working on fixing him up with the stem cell research with the okay from Abby.” Oliver explained. “But whoever they choose, will be offered the same respect we offer others.”  
“Do I have to remind you, that I’m in charge?” Russell reprimanded. 

“No, but remember why you chose me as your vice. It wasn’t because of my father, but because you trust my judgment above everyone else's.” Oliver responded. 

“True,” He replied, standing to his feet, and heading to the door. “I’ll see you at the meeting.” He finished, walking out her office door, leaving her to sigh and rest her head in her hands once more. She understood is the worry, these people were different than their own, but they were still people, and deserved the same chance as everyone else. They deserved the chance to find peace and to survive.

 

\--

Oliver was sitting in her usual spot, besides Russell at the large table. There were already 5 people among the council, including herself. Each having their own duties within the community. She had her lists from the newcomers and ready to discuss it with the entire council. She ran a hand through her hair and flinched when the door opened revealing Clarke, Bellamy and a dark-skinned woman, with short hair and dressed in armor. Her face was scarred and her eyes took in everything she saw. Oliver stood and gave her best smile. 

“Welcome, come sit please,” Oliver spoke, and Clarke smiles. 

“Oliver this is Indra, she is acting as Madi’s representative.” Clarke supplied and Oliver nodded, gesturing to the three seats in front of her. They all sat, Indra between Bellamy and Clarke. 

“Let me make introductions,” Oliver began, still standing. “You know, Russell, the leader here. Next, we have Sasha,” Oliver gestured at the woman with short brown hair, who nodded in response. “She is head of the agriculture, meaning she runs the farms.” Clarke nodded in response. 

“Beside her, is Jason, second in the Mechanical department.” She gestured to the 24-year-old, with black hair and eyes, who nodded. “Then there is Steven, second in the military, gesturing to the 23-year-old to her left. “And Jessica, who is head of sales, she runs sector 4, making sure everything goes smoothly.” She gestured next to Clarke, the woman with deep blond hair, and greens eyes who smiled. 

“What do you run?” Indra asked, her voice hesitant. 

“Me, I’m head of medical, mechanics, and the military,” Oliver responded, sitting back in her spot. 

“How do you have free time?” Bellamy asked, and Oliver’s smile slipped.  
“I don’t have much to worry about when it comes to mechanics, because Jason is my second, he keeps me updated and brings me issues. Same with Steven, and since our military force is so small, its simple. We have designated runs for small things. And medical, we only have so many doctors, so I spend a lot of my time there.” Oliver explained, and Bellamy nodded in response. 

“So this meeting is mostly to introduce our new residents for sector 9. And discuss the placements for the new people. Oliver?” Russell looked at her, and she nodded, looking at the list in front of her, sitting down. 

“So first we have medical. We have Abby, Clarke, Jackson, and Madi.” Oliver read off, and Clarke nodded. “Alright, so the four of you will report to medical tomorrow when the second sun rises, and I’ll get you all set up.”

“Next we have mechanics, and I have Raven, Emori, and Echo.” Bellamy nodded in response. “Same deal, have them meet when the second sun rises, and I’ll have Jason set them up. Then we have farms, this list is a bit longer, but it starts with Jordan, Niylah, Miller and quite a few others.” Indra and Clarke nodded. “Sasha?” Oliver slid the list over and she nodded. 

“I’ll have them meet at the front gates before the second sunrise, have them wear lighter clothing, it gets hot out there.” Sasha supplied. 

“And the skinners, they will report to Sasha as well, to learn how we go about dressing meat up to be sold.” Oliver slid the other list to Sasha and she nodded. “Next, the traders or merchants, who will report to Jessica.” She slid the list down to the other girl, who glanced at it. 

“Have them meet me at the crossroads, so I can figure out which shop will be best for each person.” Jessica supplied. 

“And militant..” Oliver paused glancing over the long list of names. “Your people are willing to fight then?” She glanced at Indra. 

“Some of them know nothing but war, they were given the choice of learning new skills, but they are willing to fight for this new home.” Indra supplied, and Oliver nodded, glancing at Steven, who nodded. “As I’m the head of that sector, I’ll have all the warriors gather at sector 9, and we will meet Steven after I’ve set up medical.” And Indra nodded, when an alarm sounded, sending Oliver to her feet. She glanced around at the table and flung herself out the front door. 

“OPEN THE GATES!! WE NEED TO GET THE LIVESTOCK AND PEOPLE THROUGH THE DOORS!” Oliver shouted, Steven on her heels. She grabbed an automatic rifle as the doors opened, and she could see them, coming through the trees. 

“What are those?” Bellamy asked over the commotion.  
“The Skrimsli. Get inside, Bellamy.” She shoved at his shoulder as she took aim with her scope and fired a shot, hitting the large creature sending it to the floor as the bullet exploded in its head. “JUST KEEP THEM AT BAY TILL WE GET OUR PEOPLE INSIDE!” She shouted, and fired another shot as she moved to the edge of the door, and made to the side, to make room for everyone getting inside. 

“OLIVER DON’T LET THEM NEAR THE CROPS!” Russell shouted from inside the door. She knew that the blood of the Skrimsli destroyed the crops, rotted the dirt all the way down to the core. She acknowledged that all the people and animals were inside, but they were still coming.

“Shit.” She muttered under breath, if they broke past the lines, it would take forever to get them away from the walls. She took a deep breath, slamming the emergency button, slamming the gates shut, leaving herself outside alone. 

“OLIVER WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!” Russell’s voice sounded over the gates. 

“Doing what I have too.” She muttered to herself, running forward towards them, and cutting right so they could see her. One Skrimsli paused, and started toward her, drawing the rest of their attention.

“Damn it, Oliver!” Russell’s voice was fading as she got further away. She started running as the Skrimsli started to follow her. She leads them away from the wall, and ducked into the danger area of the tree line, knowing she could lose them inside, she felt the air behind her back nearly shover her down as one of them swiped at her, she slipped into the trees and kept running, knowing they were chasing her. She dived into a bush, as they ran past her, shaking the ground from their size. She was screwed, she was going to have to find a way to retrace her steps to get home, without being caught. 

 

\--

 

“Man, Oli, you’ve got yourself in quite the bind.” She muttered to herself as she peeked out of the bush, looking back at the way she had come from. Forcing her heart to slow and calm her breathing, she creeped out of the bush and kept to the shadows of the trees. She didn’t even realize how far she had run before diving into the bush, she could barely make out the tree line, but she knew. She started walking, keeping her body hunched into itself until she hit the opening of the trees. She glanced at the sky, realizing it had been 3 hours since she led the Skrimsli away from the walls. She crept up to the side of the wall and found her tree. She had snuck out of the village multiple times as a child and used the tree to return. Tossing her rifle over, she climbed quickly, and threw her body over the wall, with a huff as she hit the ground hard. She picked up her gun and gave a light jog to the gate. She didn’t see anyone but heard shouting coming from the conference room. 

“Clarke we should send people after her.” Bellamy was saying as Oliver crept up to the open door, no one had noticed her. Russell was sitting with his head down, Steven was pacing, and Jason was staring at the ceiling. Clarke and Bellamy stood with Murphy, Indra, and Raven. She stepped forward and cleared her throat.

“No need to send anyone after me. I’m fine.” Oliver smiled and bowed in laughter, before being swept up by Russell. 

“You are such a reckless idiot.” He said, pulling away. 

“Not the first time I’ve heard that.” She responded, walking towards the table, patting Bellamy’s shoulder, and leaning against the table. 

“So now you’ve seen what we are up against. Still, think your people will want to fight?” Oliver asked, her voice dark, letting her eyes connect with Murphy.


	4. Cavern

Chapter four:

Three months later….

John Murphy wasn’t the kind of person, people relied on. Maybe Bellamy, or Emori. But he had let his people suffer plenty of times before. And being here in Eden had changed everything. Echo and Bellamy had ended in a blow-up fight in the middle of sector 9, where everyone heard why she was leaving him, because of his strong feelings for Clarke, someone who had left him to die in the bunker, which Bellamy had responded, that he had left Clarke to die in Praimfaya. She claimed it wasn’t the same, and Bellamy claimed what he did was worse. Emori had still refused him another chance, but instead found something special with Oliver’s second in Mechanics, Jason. Even Murphy liked the guy, who came to sector 9 and spent time with everyone, along with Steven, who seemed to catch Octavia’s eyes. She’d watch him like a predator tracking its prey. Raven and Shaw were going strong, working in the mechanic and engineer sector with fluid perfection, from what Jason had said about the two.

Oliver and Abby had saved Kane, who found his new place with Diyoza and her baby girl, while Abby had found something different with Russell, who had started spending more and more time with the people of every community. Miller and Jackson had fixed whatever was wrong between them and had been going strong after a month of being in Eden. Echo had drawn the attention of a few of the available men in Eden, not that Murphy ever saw her entertaining any of them. She focused on her place among the farm with Jordan. He never saw anything that proved her concerns about Bellamy and Clarke were true, the two avoided each other, aside from council meetings, but he figured that was all the proof most people needed, especially after everything that had happened between them. 

And then there was Oliver. He had watched her take off into the forest, leading the Skrimsli away from the gates and crops, and saw her come back, covered in dirt, and limping. She had stood her ground against monsters, much like the grounders had when they first encountered them. Indra showed her nothing but respect after that day, as did the rest of them, even Madi and Octavia. She’d come through sector 9, gathering the warriors, he included, and show respect to everyone, and in training, she was open to suggestions and assistant. Octavia had caught him watching Oliver once, and winked at him. He had fully acknowledged his growing affections for the redhead but refused action on said affections. Everyone always referred to him as a cockroach and they may be right, but Oliver was different, she was a leader like Clarke and Bellamy, prepared for the worst and willing to lay her life down for her people. But she was kind and gentle, and smart. Hell, she was smarter then Raven. He thought it constantly to himself and knew she was smart enough to avoid someone like him. 

“What are you so lost in thought about, Murphy?” Clarke’s voice broke his concentration and he glanced at her. Her hair had started to grow back out, and there was a different light in her eyes, that she had lost after Mount Weather. 

“Nothing special.” He responded, bumping his shoulder with hers. If anyone had told him that he and the princess would become decent friends, he would’ve laughed in their faces, before beating them to a pulp, but she had become someone to talk to for him. 

“Liar.” She responded with a smile. “You are either thinking about Oliver or about how much things have changed since we got to Eden.”

“Honestly, both.” He whispered softly to her, and she nodded. 

“Why do you pursue that with Oliver?” She asked, 

“Why don’t you pursue it with Bellamy?” He replied in kind, looking her in the eyes. 

“There is nothing going on between us.” She responded gruffly. 

“Liar. Clarke, I’ve known you both for a long time, he loves you. And you love him. What you both have is something special.” Murphy supplied, silently wondering when he became an expert on relationships. 

“There is too much history. We’ve hurt each other too much.” She responded. 

“And now we are in a place, that you don’t have to make the same kind of decisions in, you can work on figuring out where you guys stand.” He didn’t mention that she didn’t deny her feelings for Bellamy. “You two have danced around this thing between you both for years, and now, when you have the freedom to try and make it work.”

“He put the Flame in Madi’s head. She has regular nightmares, watching how past commanders have died, horribly.” Clarke defended. 

“And then you left him to fight and die in that bunker.” Murphy retorted. “He also pulled the lever in Mount Weather, so you didn’t pull it alone, he also willing put lives at risk to save yours. As you have for him. He loves you and you love him. You guys belong together.” 

“But-” Clarke began. 

“But nothing, Clarke. You are both different people now and can figure out where to go with all of this. So do that.”

“Only if you pursue Oliver, like I know you want too,” Clarke replied, and he rolled his eyes. 

“That's different and you know it. You and Bellamy have been at this game for 132 years, even is most of that was asleep, it's still the truth. That's why Monty had Jordan wake you two up before anyone else. You guys are different together, and you need to figure that out.”

“You really are a pain in the ass, Murphy.” Clarke smiled softly and he laughed. 

“I know, Clarke. But we cockroaches need to stick together.” He said, and she looked at him. 

“You’re special too, Murphy. And Oliver would be lucky to have you.” Clarke always knew how to make him feel awkward. 

“She has enough on her plate, not to add someone like me.” 

“Bullshit, John Murphy. And that should be her choice as well.” Clarke said, grabbing his arm. “I saw you on the ship, holding onto her so she didn’t get hurt, I saw you slip into the Meetinghouse on our first day here, I saw you try to chase after her, when she left to lead the Skrimsli away, I saw you- pace and pace waiting for her to return, and for the last three months, you’ve been attempting to discreetly watch her, in and outside of training. So stop lying about it and do something.” He frowned at her words until it clicks in his head. 

“Damn Octavia. Doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut sometimes.” He muttered softly and Clarke laughed lighting, drawing attention to them. Bellamy eyed them curiously, as did Oliver who was speaking with him. 

“You first, Clarke. If you go up to Bellamy and fix whatever the hell is wrong with you two with some romance then I will try for Oliver.” Murphy supplied in a hushed voice, and Clarke’s laughter died, and she glanced over at Bellamy. 

“Come with me.” She asked, softly, and he nodded, and they both walked over to the pair. 

“Murphy,” Oliver said with a smile. 

“Hey, Oli.” He responded, as Clarke stood next to Bellamy, she gently tugged on his sleeve, drawing Bellamy’s attention. 

“Clarke?” His voice is soft, as he looked at her. 

“I think we need to talk.” She responded, and Bellamy straightened, his body tensing as he glanced at Murphy, who gave him a wink and a nod, and Bellamy took Clarke’s hand and led her behind one of the houses. 

“She finally making her move?” Oliver asked, looking at Murphy who nodded. 

“They’ve been bouncing around it this entire time,” Murphy responded. 

“They aren’t the only ones,” Oliver responded, looking at Murphy intently. 

“No, I suppose not.” He paused, “Oli, do you-”

“Meet me at the training center in an hour, Murphy.” She interrupted him with a wink, before taking off after Indra and Octavia. He took a deep breath and broke into a run to the house he shared with Bellamy and Jordan. He rushed a shower and was putting on clean clothes when the alarm sounded. He took off, heading outside and nearly running into a flustered Bellamy and Clarke. They looked around until a voice sounded in the speakers. 

 

“All soldiers report to the front gate, the Skrimsli are coming.” Russell’s voice was loud, echoing out in the community. Murphy and Bellamy took off, being flanked by others, grabbing the guns at the meeting house, and preparing. Oliver was already guiding people inside the door, gun strapped to her back, and a large knife in her hand, with Indra on the other side of her, both swords in hand. Murphy loaded his rifle beside Bellamy and they charged forward, as Oliver took a shot, one of the Skrimsli falling to the ground. 

“Indra, we can’t let them bleed on the crops.” Oliver called out as they finally got everyone through the gates. 

“They have to be led away, Oliver.” Indra said, and realization dawned on Murphy and he grabbed Oliver’s arm.

“Don’t you dare!” He said, and she looked at him, sadness evident. 

“I’m the only one who can, I know the area the best.” Oliver responded, sliding out of his grip and taking off, and within a split second, he was on her heels and they were running. Her eyes wide as she fired a few shots into the sky, drawing the Skrimsli’s attention and they were following within seconds. Murphy followed Oliver into the trees, and they kept going. He kept his eyes on Oliver as her legs carried her over roots, rocks and through bushes. He felt wind at his back as one tried to grab at him. 

“They’re too close for us to hid yet, we have to keep pushing.” Oliver shouted as they ran, glancing behind her back. “There’s a cavern beneath the river a few miles up, we’ll be safe there.” 

“Not the best swimmer, just so you know.” He responded, remembering how horrible he was at it when Emori tried to teach him. 

“Don’t worry.” She smirked as she focus on the run ahead of them. He couldn’t hear anything other than the sounds of the Skrimsli pouring feet behind them. Than he saw the opening, almost like a clearing, a drop off. 

“We have to jump?” He asked as he almost slowed.

“It’s only water below, just take a deep breath, and I’ll get us to the cavern.” She added as they broke through the trees, and without hesitation grabbed his arm and flung them both over the edge. 

The sensation of falling wasn’t exactly new for him, it felt the same as landing on the ground without as much shaking. But the cold water that engulfed him nearly had Murphy opening his mouth in shock, but he kept his lips clamped and gripped Oliver’s hand as she lead them underwater. 

After a few minutes his brain began to fog, as he struggled to breathe, until Oliver brought them up on a underwater cave and pulling him through to get to surface inside. With his head above water he gasped for air as he struggled to the sandy shore, he watched as Oliver pulled herself up and collapsed on the ground, her breathing ragged. 

“Oliver..” Murphy breathes out as her eyes shot open to look at him. 

“The hell were you thinking, Murphy? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!” She shouted, sitting up and shoving him. 

“Me?! You took off with no hesitation, with only a gun and a knife.” Murphy responded in kind. 

“I’ve spend my entire life here. I know the area, I could’ve gotten away. You have no idea how screwed we are!” Oliver shouted, and he realized his mistake, last time she was able to outrun them and hide in a bush, but he took a guess that they were much further out at this point.

“I’m sorry.” Was all he could say.

“It’ll be at least a 4 day walk back to the gates, and we are smack in the middle of their territory. We have no food, no drinkable water and you can barely swim.” She was furious, he could see it in her face, in the way she ignored his apology. “We have no climbing gear, so that mean we will have to swim our way out and to shore, which is miles away, and we have to pick the right shore, or we will end up in the sea Skrimsli’s area. And we don’t have my map, which I spend years creating for a situation like this.” She had calmed herself down, and was looking at the water. 

“I didn’t realize, Oliver. I’m sorry.” Murphy tried again. He didn’t even have the heart for a sarcastic joke, realizing that they both might die out here. 

“I know, and sorry for freaking out like that.” She responded, laying back down on the sand, and he followed suit. “We’ll have to build a fire in here, and work on your swimming, or neither of us are going to make it out of the water.” She supplied with a breath. 

“Whatever you need me to do.” He responded and she nodded. Sitting back up, she went to her pockets and pulled out a notebook, and began tearing up the pages, which got increasingly more difficult as the cold started to set in. “You’ll have to strip, Oliver. The wet clothes will make it worse.” And she nodded and struggled out of her sweater and pants, and he followed suit. Boots, socks, pants, jacket and shirt, leaving him in barely there boxer shorts and her in a thin top and underwear. And she continued tearing pages, before she surmised it was enough and lit them up with a match. They laid their clothes next to the fire to dry, and she let out a shaking breath, her arms wrapped around her knees. 

“Why’d you follow me, Murphy?” She asked, her shivers slowing down as heat began swimming in her blood. 

“I just couldn’t let you go on your own.” He responded not looking at her. 

“Did you think I wouldn’t of survived?” He could practically taste the anger in her voice. 

“No, I just didn’t want you to be alone.” He replies laying near the fire, facing away from her. 

“I’m usually alone, Murphy.” She whispered, letting sleep take her.


	5. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut warning.

Chapter five:

“Murphy, you are doing fine.” Her voice seemed to lull at him. He could feel her hands on his back, helping him float. She kept saying the first thing he had to learn was float, learn to trust the water, and hear it. It was a different tactic then the one Emori used; who kind of just shoved him in the water and said kick. He kept his arms out and his eyes close, focusing on the water, that he didn’t feel her fingers graze off his back, letting him float by himself. He didn’t see her smile as she watched him, or move a step back. They both had decided upon waking to teach him to swim without their other clothing, to avoid getting sick. So they didn’t have to dry them off as well. Oliver had him go over the things he already knew and had to watch her shake her head in disbelief, and telling him to forget everything he learned before. 

“You are doing great, Murphy.” Her voice whispered out again, and he opened his eyes to see her, only to find her a few feet away, smiling at him. Once it registered that she wasn’t helping him, he smiled at her. She nodded, and came back to him, helping him find his balance on the floor under the water. 

“What’s next?” He asked, and she smiled, her long red hair shaking in her face. He hadn’t realized until now, how long it was, hanging down her back, past her waist, where the water met air on her, and kept going for a few more inches. 

“Now we work on actually swimming. We are gonna go over the main one, it involves keeping your head above water, on your stomach. Your legs and arms are propelling you forward.” Oliver explained and he nodded, she gestured for him to stand aside and he watched her demonstrate what it was. And he tried to memorize it, as she went slow.

“I think I can do it.” He responded and took the starting spot and attempted to repeat her actions. She kept to the edge and watched him. He kept at it a few times and glanced at her watching him, her eyes hooded and her bottom lip between her teeth. He tensed up and stopped swimming, walking up to her, as she watched. “How’d I do?” He asked, his voice raspy. 

“Fantastic.” She responded, and stood up, her chest brushing against his as she did. The thin tank top grazing his chest, but he could still feel her. 

“Should I keep practicing?” He whispered, leaning down so his mouth was by her ear, and felt her shiver, and then she tensed up and nodded, stepping away from him. He wasn’t sure what he did, but he backed away, and continued with his swimming, glancing back as she stared at her hands instead of at him. 

 

—

Oliver made Murphy practice for way longer than necessary as she tried to wrap her head around the feelings in her stomach. She climbed out of the water, and sat beside the dying fire, his swimming was as good as she could get it, they would have to leave tomorrow morning, right after the first sun rose. They’d go to the left, she knew it was probably the best bet. Last time she was in the cavern, she had brought climbing gear to return to top. But the spur of the moment decision to jump without was were her issue was. She knew going to the right outside the cavern, would be a shorter trip to shore, but she knew there was a tribe of Skrimsli camped by the shore. She wasn’t sure they’d make it, but it was necessary. Murphy pulled her from her thoughts by pulling himself out of the water. 

“So what’s the plan?” He said, sitting across from her. 

“Tomorrow after the first sun rises, we will head out to the left of the cavern. It’ll be a long swim, but if we went right, it would land us in a camp for the Skrimsli, we wouldn’t be able to fight our way out. So left, until shore, and then we have to hike to the camp, we might be able to get in through the back gate, even if it has been sealed for years.” Oliver explained, and Murphy nodded. 

“Get some rest, Murphy. Tomorrow will be a long day.” She said, laying on her side, facing away from him, using her arm as a pillow. Murphy sighed and followed suit, laying on his back, and staring at the cave wall. 

 

—

“Murphy come on, we should get going.” She woke him up and he looked at her, already dressed. He nodded and pulled his clothes on, and followed her into the water and swam after her. They dove under the water and pushed themselves forward and back up, hitting the surface in a splash. Murphy looked at Oliver as she glanced upward, and turned left, and began swimming, him following suit. 

It felt like they had been swimming forever, when she began to slow. She paused and turned left, again, heading towards to cliff and pulled herself on a rock, and Murphy followed. His breathing ragged. 

“Damn.” He muttered and leaned against the rocks behind him. He glanced at her, her elbows on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

“Yeah. We gotta keep pushing though.” She responded and he knew she was right, and jumped back into the water before her. 

“Than let’s go.” He spoke, and she followed, jumping in the water and leading them back in the proper direction. It would take them till the first sun began to set before they reached the shore. Oliver struggled to pull herself up the shore ledge. Murphy put his hands on her behind and pushed her up and followed her, collapsed beside her. His skin was tight and red, his lungs hurt, and his lips were burning, and Oliver wasn’t looking much better.

“Oli, we have to find shelter.” He whispered and she groaned. He looked around and decided, putting a hand under her legs and against her back, he carried her off the shore and into the trees, following the cliff line and found exactly what he was looking for. A cave. 

He carried her inside, when the shivers started. He reacted quickly, pulling her sweater and pants off and tossing them towards the back of the cave, and followed by his own, and he pulled her back up and wrapped her in his arms, trying to share his heat, but he was shaking badly as well. He pulled her hair off her body, and tossing it over his shoulder to get it off her. Her small frame was the cause, and he’d been through this kind of thing before. 

“Come on, Oliver.” He whispered, in her ear and felt her jerk in his arms. “I need you to wake up.” She shuddered, and pushed herself further against him. 

“Murphy.” She shivered out and clutched his arms in desperation. “Don’t let go.” She whispered and he nodded against her cold shoulder. He knew of a way to warm them up, but was positive she wasn’t up for it. Emori and him had been stuck in a situation similar to this and had built up heat by having sex. 

“Oliver, we need to build up heat.” He whispered and somehow her body tensed up against his even with the shivers. 

“I know.” She muttered, turning her head to press her lips to the side of his face. “Murphy?” He turned her, so she faced him, her legs bent at the knees. Her lips were blue and her eyes watery. He was sure he didn’t look any better. 

“We can figure out a different way to warm our bodies up.” Murphy supplied and she let out a cold chuckle.

“You and I both know this is the easiest and fastest way to heat us both up.” She forced up. She pushed her hands up his chest and linked them around the back of his neck. 

“But if you aren’t comfortable?” He asked, but was shushed by her lips colliding with his. Even with the shivers, she kissed him like he was all that mattered, he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer against him, he was already beginning to feel heat in his body, as she moved against him. She gasped against his lips, and moved against. He could feel the heat coming from between her legs, and it was like being next to a fire. He kissed her harder, his tongue pushing into her mouth, and she sucked on it, causing him to scratch down her back, and push her wet top over her, causing her to whimper as their lips separated, before crashing back against him, she pushed herself up to her knees, and reached down between them, freeing him from the confines of his boxers, and she used her hand to push her underwear to the side, and slid him up to her entrance, and pushed herself down, and they both groaned. 

“Oh god.” Murphy muttered against her skin, his shivers already gone. He looked at her, her lips no longer blue, and her eyes hooded. She pushed herself up and down on him, tightening on him, and he began to feel sweat building up along his forehead. She sped up her pace and he nearly lost his control and flipped her onto her back, but resisted the urge. This was just to get warm, he knew she didn’t want him like that, despite how wet she had been for him to enter. 

“Oliver, I’m gonna..-“ he groaned as he came and she followed, tossing her head back, her breasts bouncing in his face, until she froze, her body going rigid in his arms. She stood herself up and grabbed her shirt, turning away from him, and in the dim lighting he could see the scratch marks down her back. She shoved her arms in the shirt, pulling it back on and tossing her hair up with a rubber band. Murphy used that time to tuck himself back into his boxers, before speaking.

“Oliver, I-“ he started, not sure what to really say. 

“We did what we had too. It gets so cold here at night, and with the water it didn’t help. So get some sleep, we may be able to make it to walk tomorrow.” She stated, without ever looking at him. Murphy closed his eyes, as she laid down by the other wall, her back to him. 

Son of a bitch. He thought to himself as he rested his head against the wall.


	6. Unit of Seven

Chapter six:

Oliver woke up first, something she was used too. She sat up slowly, her body aching from the rock floor, and the activities she had participated in to survive. She glanced around, and saw Murphy sleeping against the wall, where she’d left him. She stood gingerly and searched for their clothes, already feeling the heat from the suns above. They slept longer than they should have. She slid her damp pants on over her legs, and tied her sweater to her waist, slinging her gun over her back and grabbing her knife, when he stomach grumbles. Three days without food or water. They needed to find the community today, or they wouldn’t survive much longer. She winced as she looked at him sleeping. Last night had been necessary, but it was wrong. She had listened to Emori talk about him constantly for the first few weeks after getting them settled in, and Oliver was aware of the relationship between them. She had built a relationship with Emori, Raven, Echo and Clarke, and she never really had much in the way of friends, and now, she had probably ruined her entire standing with everyone in sector 9, developing feelings was natural, but acting on them was different. She could’ve buried that until the day she died, but now, the bed was made. She and Murphy had done something and her feelings were still strong enough for it to hurt her actual heart. She shoved the feelings down, and grabbed his clothes, dropping them in his lap. 

“Time to get up, Murphy.” She said as he jolted awake and looked at her. She walked out of the cave so he could dress and met her out there. 

“I tried not to take us too far from shore, but we needed shelter.” Murphy explained and she nodded in response. 

“I can find our way back from here.” She replied, pulling out her knife and hacking a thin branch out of her way as she went straight forward. Murphy followed, keeping an eye out for the space behind them as Oliver led the way. 

It took them 2 hours to be close enough to hear the alarms, and they started to run, breaking out of the trees, just beyond the crops, and watched as Skrimsli were coming out at the gate. Oliver was quick to react, taking her blade and launching it at one, it flipping end over end till it buried itself to the hilt in one of the Skrimsli. She flipped her gun over her shoulder and with Murphy beside her, both taking aim and firing away, sending the Skrimsli back into the trees before they ever got to the first set of crops. Oliver walked forward to the one with her knife protruding from its chest, and grabbed the hilt, pulling it free and wiping the blue blood on her pants. They both faced each other and walked to the gate, and she knew they looked ragged. 

“Holy shit, Oliver! Murphy!” Bellamy yelled, ushering them inside the gates. They both dropped to their knees in a huff, and Oliver was the first to move, dropping her knife and gun on the floor and pushing herself up. She looked out at the crowd of people. Bellamy, Indra, Steven, Octavia and the farmers all stood staring at her.

“We are putting an end to these creatures, once and for all.” Oliver shouted as the sky opened up and rain began to fall, soaking them instantly. Oliver couldn’t resist looking up at the sky as Russell order everyone home, except for her, Murphy, Bellamy, Indra and Steven, who he ushered everyone into the conference hall.

“Olive you can’t just make a declaration like that.” Russell argued.

“I almost died out there. Murphy almost died. We can’t keep doing this.” Oliver fought back, when Bellamy spoke up.

“We can’t just destroy the natives here, it’s wrong.” 

“They aren’t natives,” Oliver laughed. Drawing everyone’s attention. “I lied to you, and your people. And I’m sorry for that, but this isn’t public knowledge.” Oliver began.

“Oliver, stop.” Russell pleaded.

“They have a right to know.” Oliver responded. “When our ancestors landed here, there was nothing here. They created the Skrimsli to control and strike fear in the people here. The mistake made was that they weren’t supposed to reproduce, but they do.” Oliver sighed, looking at Bellamy. 

“It’s the lie we’ve kept going, because it’s easier to keep up with then the fact that our ancestors did this, and lost control of them. They have done enough damage to us, to the land. They aren’t supposed to be.” Oliver finished.

“How would we go about this?” Indra asked, and Oliver nodded.

“I’ve been able to hack the old files, they’re blood is a tracker, so even the young ones are traceable. I’ve been able to locate the colonies, and they aren’t far. There is about 5 of them going about 25 miles out. Which is the furthest one.” Oliver explained, “I don’t think they can go far, in the notes I discovered, I don’t think they can go further than that. My plan is a small unit, we go out and take them out colony by colony, we use the trees as cover, they aren’t hard to kill, their numbers and size are what have stop us from doing anything before.”

“You could still get yourself and this unit killed.” Russell supplied, and Oliver looked at him.

“You put me in charge of the military force, you put trust in me to be your second, and run everything when you can’t. And I’m tired of empty graves with names.” Oliver paused, taking a deep breath. “I will do this with or without your approval, even if you banish me afterwards, at least ALL of our people will be safe.” She finished and turned to leave.

“How many do you need?” Russell asked, stopping her in her tracks. 

“About 6, maybe 7.” Oliver supplies and Russell nodded. He looked at Bellamy.

“If there are any of your people who want to join, we could use the help.” Russell asked and Bellamy nodded.

“I will do it.” Indra stated, looking at Oliver.

“Me too.” Murphy offered and Oliver looked him in the face for the first time since that night, and she nodded.

“Let me talk to the others.” Bellamy stated, patting Oliver’s shoulders.

“Oli?” Steven started and Oliver shook her head.

“Steven you have to stay here, because if I don’t make it back, you will take over the military, and Jason the mechanics and engineers.” Oliver stated and he nodded in response. “Bellamy, let me know if any of your people volunteer, I need quiet, sharp-shooters, who are capable.”

“On it.” He stared and took off, followed by Indra. Russell and Steven followed suit, leaving Oliver and Murphy alone. 

“You shouldn’t come on this mission.” Oliver stated, and Murphy froze.

“Why?” 

“Because I can’t do this, I can’t look at you.” 

“What the hell, Oliver?” Murphy nearly shouted, grabbing her arm.

“I know we needed to do what we did to survive, but I can’t do this to Emori. I care about you, and fuck, I want you. But it’s wrong.” She responded, pulling her arm from his grasp and slipped out the door, taking off to her home, to eat, shower, cry and sleep. In that order.

—

“So we have Indra, Murphy, Miller, Echo, Johnson, and me,” Bellamy stated leaning against Oliver’s kitchen counter. 

“Johnson’s good, he’s fast on his feet.” Oliver stated, nodding. 

“Echo used to be a spy for her people, and is an amazing shot. Indra is used to was the leader to her people who lived in the woods, Miller and Murphy are reliable soldiers.” Bellamy supplied, as Oliver sat on her counter. 

“Sure it's a good idea for you and Echo to go on a mission together, things have been tense between you two.” Oliver asked, trying to be gentle.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. She knows how important this is.” Bellamy sighed, running a hand over his face. “But since you asked, things have been tense between you and Murphy since you got back 2 days ago.” 

“Touché, Bellamy Blake.” Oliver supplied, but didn’t give anymore information.

“Emori and him have been over for a long time.” Bellamy supplied and she flinched. She hadn’t known that, but it didn’t change anything.

“Irrelevant, Bellamy. My only focus right now is protecting our people.” 

“Afterwards, you need to pursue whatever connection you two have.” He finished, pushing off from the counter. “When do we leave?” He asked, effectively changing the subject. 

“Tomorrow after the first sun rise, meet here.” Oliver responded and he gave her a curt nod, exciting her home, leaving her alone. 

It was shocking how much a person's life can change in such a short amount of time. It had nearly been 4 months since the Eligius IV was spotted in Eden’s orbit. Time seemed to pass by differently with the newcomers, but Oliver could enjoy that. She liked fresh new faces, new stories, new lives, she couldn’t enjoy the confusion in her heart concerning Murphy. She knew she needed to shove those thoughts away, she had her mission in the morning, she had to lead her group through a revolution of sorts. She’d have to deal with it, deal with him. 

Oliver leaned back against her spot on her counter and looked out at the sky, the second sun was just about to set, and she had no guarantees about anything that was going to happen in the morning. She slipped off her counter and walked to her room. Sitting on her bed was her pack, she’d loaded with rations, water, ammo, and two sets of climbing gear. On her floor were 6 similar bags, all packed with the same things. The entire unit would gather here in the morning, where she’d had out packs with instructions. 

There was no going back now.


End file.
